This book is a graduate-level self-study guide of bound states in elementary particle physics and consequently in the standard model. The author first recalls the usual quantum electrodynamics (QED) approach to atoms in terms of Feynman diagrams, which assume free states at asymptotic times. Motivated by general principles and data, he then develops a novel method based on a Fock expansion of bound states in temporal gauge. The properties of relativistic bound states are discussed for Dirac states, atoms in motion, QED in D=1+1 dimensions, and hadrons in quantum chromodynamics (including color confinement). This book provides complementary material for quantum field theory courses and is accessible for graduate students and more senior researchers.

This book is a graduate-level self-study guide of bound states in elementary particle physics and consequently in the standard model. The author first recalls the usual quantum electrodynamics (QED) approach to atoms in terms of Feynman diagrams, which assume free states at asymptotic times. Motivated by general principles and data, he then develops a novel method based on a Fock expansion of bound states in temporal gauge. The properties of relativistic bound states are discussed for Dirac states, atoms in motion, QED in D=1+1 dimensions, and hadrons in quantum chromodynamics (including color confinement). This book provides complementary material for quantum field theory courses and is accessible for graduate students and more senior researchers.

Mathematics is the language of physics, and over time physicists have developed their own dialect. The main purpose of this book is to bridge this language barrier, and introduce the readers to the beauty of mathematical physics. It shows how to combine the strengths of both approaches: physicists often arrive at interesting conjectures based on good intuition, which can serve as the starting point of interesting mathematics. Conversely, mathematicians can more easily see commonalities between very different fields (such as quantum mechanics and electromagnetism), and employ more advanced tools.Rather than focusing on a particular topic, the book showcases conceptual and mathematical commonalities across different physical theories. It translates physical problems to concrete mathematical questions, shows how to answer them and explains how to interpret the answers physically. For example, if two Hamiltonians are close, why are their dynamics similar?The book alternates between mathematics- and physics-centric chapters, and includes plenty of concrete examples from physics as well as 76 exercises with solutions. It exploits that readers from either end are familiar with some of the material already. The mathematics-centric chapters provide the necessary background to make physical concepts mathematically precise and establish basic facts. And each physics-centric chapter introduces physical theories in a way that is more friendly to mathematicians.As the book progresses, advanced material is sprinkled in to showcase how mathematics and physics augment one another. Some of these examples are based on recent publications and include material which has not been covered in other textbooks. This is to keep it interesting for the readers.

In 1981 Mary K Gaillard became the first woman on the physics faculty at the University of California at Berkeley. Her career as a theoretical physicist spanned the period from the inception — in the late 1960s and early 1970s — of what is now known as the Standard Model of particle physics and its experimental confirmation, culminating with the discovery of the Higgs particle in 2012. A Singularly Unfeminine Profession recounts Gaillard's experiences as a woman in a very male-dominated field, while tracing the development of the Standard Model as she witnessed it and participated in it. The generally nurturing environment of her childhood and college years, as well as experiences as an undergraduate in particle physics laboratories and as a graduate student at Columbia University — which cemented her passion for particle physics — left her unprepared for the difficulties that she confronted as a second year graduate student in Paris, and later at CERN, another particle physics laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland. The development of the Standard Model, as well as attempts to go beyond it and aspects of early universe physics, are described through the lens of Gaillard's own work, in a language written for a lay audience.

From the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere comes a deeply personal memoir full of fascinating adventures as he travels everywhere from the Mayan pyramids to Kilimanjaro. Fueled by a powerful curiosity—and by a need to see, feel, and hear, firsthand and close-up—Michael Crichton's journeys have carried him into worlds diverse and compelling—swimming with mud sharks in Tahiti, tracking wild animals through the jungle of Rwanda. This is a record of those travels—an exhilarating quest across the familiar and exotic frontiers of the outer world, a determined odyssey into the unfathomable, spiritual depths of the inner world. It is an adventure of risk and rejuvenation, terror and wonder, as exciting as Michael Crichton's many masterful and widely heralded works of fiction.

Interstellar Travel: Propulsion, Life Support, Communications, and the Long Journey addresses the technical challenges that must be overcome to make such journeys possible. Leading experts in the fields of space propulsion, power, communication, navigation, crew selection, safety and health provide detailed information about state-of-the-art technologies and approaches for each challenge, along with possible methods based on real science and engineering. This book offers in-depth, up-to-date and realistic technical and scientific considerations in the pursuit of interstellar travel and will be an essential reference for scientists, engineers, researchers and academics working on, or interested in, space development and space technologies. With a renewed interest in space exploration and development evidenced by the rise of the commercial space sector and various governments now planning to send humans back to the moon and to Mars, there is also growing interest in taking the next steps beyond the solar system and to the ultimate destination – planets circling other stars. With the rapid growth in the number of known exoplanets, people are now asking how we might make journeys to visit them. - Discusses the technical challenges that must be overcome to mount interstellar missions - Features various aspects of interstellar travel by the world's recognized leading experts in the field - Provides referenceable data and analysis for both new and experienced researchers in the interstellar and deep-space exploration fields